The last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors

[KGAINES]

Took me a little while to read this book because the beginning is slow and slightly boring, but as you get to the meat of the book you understand why it was to get to know the numerous men that would eventually be involved in the fight. This book is about the Battle Off Samar, true story about the last major Japanese naval attack against a heavily over matched American fleet. The American fleet was there in strength except that Halsey followed a decoy and took our carriers and main battle group out of the area and left his small support ships open to an attack as he chased Japanese carriers that unknown to him at the time were almost useless to them since they had for the most part ran out of pilots, while that happened the Japanese main fleet attacked the support ships that were left unprotected. The Japanese had the largest Battleship ever built at 72,000 tons, as compared to some of the destroyer escort ships for the Americans that were at 1,200 tons. There were a few destroyers and 6 escort carriers in the group and they carry around thirty planes each, there were a total of thirteen American ships, the armament of the planes carried little aside from a few torpedoes to damage the Japanese fleet. While the escort carriers ran the little destroyers and even smaller destroyer escorts made attack runs on the Japanese ships while taking a pounding from up to 3,218 pound explosive shells, this was also the first battle where Kamikazes were used and sank an escort carrier. Even after the battle there were American sailors in the water for over two days, injured, exposed, and fighting off sharks.

Side note on this book was that Vice Adm. John S. McCain was in control of some ships in Halsey's group, and that is our Sen. McCain's Grandfather. Great Book about some Great Americans, well worth the time to read it.

The book was written by James D. Hornfischer.

[coueshunter84]

Other good reading along those lines . Find some of the books about the battles off of Guadalcanal ( Iron Bottom Sound). I got lucky enough to spend 2+ hours with the fellow who was the gunner on the number 1 turret on the South Dakota The night they "crossed the T" on the 2 Japanese battle ships. he touched off the first main gun rounds of that one. Was quite the story. He watched a couple of our destroyers take torpedos just to keep them off of his ship,, on pourpose. Quite incredible.

[biglakejake]

just finished 'last stand of the tin can sailors' and it was excellent. on par with Medal of Honor winner Richard O'Kanes' 'clear the bridge' and michael gannon's 'operation drumbeat'.

 

lee

ps next trip to Ft. Rosecrans the names on the Taffy 3 memorial will mean a great deal more.

[KGAINES]

I thought Lone Survivor was a very good book as well.

[biglakejake]

just finished a european air-war book that blew me away. you gotta read it to believe it-and its NON fiction. i give it 5 stars.

 

"No Higher Call"

 

lee

[azslim]

a book I really enjoyed was "Last Flight From Tokura", joins the Navy at age 15, is one of 3 survivors, from a mine sweeper that was sunk, hiding on a Japanese held island, how they escape is wild, well worth reading.

 

I was lucky enough to meet the author last year up in Idaho.